A 35-year-old man in India died in a horrifying accident after accepting what he believed was a sweet treat from a neighbor, only for the seemingly harmless dessert to explode when he took a bite.
Rajendra Barautiya was sitting around a bonfire with family members outside his home in Padariya Chhanta, a village in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, when the deadly incident unfolded Tuesday evening, November 10.
According to investigators, a fellow villager approached Barautiya around 8 p.m. and offered him what appeared to be a rasgulla, a popular Indian dessert made from soft, round balls soaked in sugar syrup.
But the object was not candy. Police say it was a homemade explosive commonly used to kill wild boars.
Unaware of the danger, Barautiya placed it in his mouth and bit down, triggering an explosion that left him critically injured.
His stunned family members immediately rushed him to Dindori District Hospital in a three-wheeled vehicle, hoping doctors could save his life. Despite medical treatment, Barautiya died from his injuries.
The bizarre tragedy has left residents of the small village shaken and raised disturbing questions about whether the explosive was deliberately given to him.
Police identified the man who allegedly handed over the device as Ramabhagat Barautiya, a fellow villager who had reportedly joined the family around the fire shortly after dinner.
Investigators say Ramabhagat described the object as a rasgulla during their conversation, giving the victim no apparent reason to suspect it was dangerous.
The device was what locals sometimes call a “pig-killer bomb,” a crude explosive used in certain rural areas to hunt wild boars.
These homemade devices can resemble small balls of dough and are designed to detonate when an animal bites into them. Their resemblance to ordinary food makes them particularly dangerous when handled improperly.
But investigators are now trying to determine why one of these explosives ended up being offered to a person.
Police officer Rekha Singh confirmed that authorities were examining whether Barautiya was intentionally targeted or whether the deadly incident resulted from a reckless prank.
“We don’t know if the motive was to kill, or if it was a mischief,” Singh told Agence France-Presse. “That is a matter of investigation.”
Authorities have arrested two men in connection with the death, including the neighbor accused of handing Barautiya the explosive.
Both face allegations of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, an offense under Indian law involving an unlawful death without the legal elements required for a murder conviction.
Investigators are also examining how the explosive was obtained and whether anyone else played a role in supplying it.
The case has drawn widespread attention because of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the death. What began as an ordinary evening with family ended in tragedy after Barautiya accepted something he believed was a familiar dessert.
Police have not established whether the suspect intended to harm him, and the investigation remains ongoing.
For the victim’s family, the unanswered questions are especially painful as they struggle to understand how a casual encounter with a neighbor could have ended so suddenly and tragically.
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